Horticulture Centre of the Pacific

Gardens Closed Today
2024-01-12 09:00 - 2024-01-18 16:00 (America/Vancouver) | Horticulture Centre Of The Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd., Victoria, BC, V9E 2J7, Canada
Due to weather conditions. Please come again soon!

Community Clothing Swap
2024-01-20 10:00 - 14:00
NOTICE:
Due to weather the gardens are closed on January 18th, please bring donations on 19th or on the day of the event.
January can be a quiet month for gardeners, but a great time for other community events. Join us for a Community Clothing Swap happening at the HCP.
Please RSVP HERE if you are interested in attending or donating as this will help us with planning the event. If you sign up, you will a reminder email closer to the event.
Details below:
How to Donate:
Donations can be dropped off at the Gardens January 13 - 19 between 10am and 1pm.
Acceptable items for Donation:
Please note that not all items donated may be accepted, please see our donation rules below.
Donation Rules
Adult clothing, shoes and accessories only
Dog clothing & toys (yes for your furry friend)
Clean, quality items that are in good shape
A maximum of 20 items per person (please email me if you have more)
Unfortunately we are not accepting underwear and socks
Unfortunately we are not accepting homewares and children's items
We are also looking for the following items to be donated or borrowed.
Please email cheri@hcp.ca if you can help with any of these.
Full length mirrors x 2
Clothing rails
How to Shop:
Admission to the event is by donation and will include admission to the Gardens (suggested donation is $10). Donations will go to cover the cost of the event and to our community education programs.
Guests will receive one credit for each item donated which can be redeemed for one item of clothing at the event. If you run out of credits or did not donate any items, then there will be a charge of $2 per item.
Cash only and bring your own bag.
Other Considerations:
This is a drop-in event between 10am - 2pm. The event may close early if we run out of items.
This is a cash only event and we do not have an ATM on site.
Parking may be limited, so carpooling is recommended.
Please bring your own bag.
Volunteers will be running this event, so please be kind.
Leftover items after the event will be donated to local thrift stores, including SPCA , Victoria Women in Need (WIN) and Beacon Community Services.
If you have any questions, please contact me by responding to this message or emailing cheri@hcp.ca

HCP Kids - Seed starting with Kids
2024-02-10 10:00 - 11:30
As gardeners it never seems early enough to begin seed starting. This is an inexpensive way to produce food crops, herbs and flowers; we explore them all. There will be lots of seeds planted and brought home to continue growing and enjoying. This is a great skill to have as a budding gardener! Ages 5 to 14 (Parents welcome to attend)

Date: Feb 10
Time: 10:00am - 11:30am
Fee: $35 or $30 with Family Membership (Discount will be applied at payment stage)
Register: Online or call 250-479-6162

HCP Kids - Pro-D Day Camp
2024-02-16 09:00 - 16:00
During these camps, we will busy ourselves with seasonal gardening activities in our very own HCP Kids Garden! There will also be an exploration of the many natural systems that keep our gardens growing, garden arts and crafts, and more!

Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Fee: $45
Date: 16 February 2024
Register: Online or call 250-479-6162

Family Day 2024
2024-02-19 09:00 - 14:00
You are invited to

Admission by donation

Join us and help Rocky Point Bird Observatory celebrate its 30th anniversary while participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count! Bring your binoculars and take part in Bird Walks, play Bird Bingo, check out the Interactive Display Table and Colouring stations.

Line & Wash Watercolours on Japanese Art Paper with Richard Wong
2024-02-25 13:00 - 16:00
Join Richard Wong for an afternoon of creative fun and inspiration exploring "line &
wash" techniques with archival ink and watercolour. The addition of line and wash
adds a little more texture to your paintings and can result in very pleasing effects.
Richard has designed the classes in this three part series to be 'stand alone' with
at least two subjects covered at each class. However, best learning usually occurs
with practice and reinforcement at each class. Possible class subjects may include
Aspen, Chicory Flowers (see image), Cherries, Carolina Rose, Northern Flicker or
Clam.
Tuition (per workshop): $80.00 not including supplies /$90.00 includes paint
supplies but no pen
*Archival ink pens will be available from Richard at cost in class - bring $5.00
cash.*

Supplies Required If You Are Bringing Your Own
- Pigma 05 Micron black archival ink pens (will be provided in class at cost for
$5.00 - please bring cash.)
- masa paper (several 8x10" pieces). Option: regular 140lb watercolour paper
- winsor newton watercolours: bring all your colours
- paint brushes (medium and small), pencil, eraser, paper towels, containers for
rinse water
Registration: REGISTER ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Line and Wash Watercolours on Japanese Art Paper Series Dates
Workshop #1 Sunday, February 25 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Workshop #2: Thursday, March 28 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Workshop #3: Friday, April 26 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Sign up HERE to receive updates on Richard's classes
Richard Wong, Artist Statement & Biography
“How I Became A Wildlife Artist”

This great adventure of mine started fairly innocently.
I spent a glorious 25 years with the provincial government of British Columbia working in finance and policy (Ministry of Environment). During that time, I came to appreciate our wildlife and natural environment, all so delicately balanced! Then it came time to retire. So I did.
My life as a wildlife artist started soon thereafter. With time on my hands, and a Christmas gift of art supplies (from my wonderful spouse), I enrolled in art classes (2010). First it was traditional watercolor classes. Then it was Chinese brush lessons. I soon discovered Japanese art paper, and my career (second) as a professional wildlife artist began. Learning to paint, especially watercolor, allows me to capture the very essence of wildlife and nature like no other medium. Much of our wildlife is affected to the point where we are losing them rapidly. So I do what I can to spread this message of awareness: to paint and capture our wildlife in beautiful, vibrant watercolors; to teach others how to do this; and along the way, to engage and connect people and communities through my love of art. This love has taken me to Australia and the United States, where I've taught, presented and shown my work (Watercolor on Japanese Art Paper). I now paint (professionally), teach and sell from my lovely home base in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Wishing everyone a very lovely journey as we embark on yet another wildlife/art adventure full of wonder, excitement and discovery!
Sincerely,
Richard Wong
Professional Wildlife Artist
Watercolor on Japanese Art Paper

Introduction to Fruit Trees Workshop
2024-03-02 09:00 - 12:00
with Gordon Mackay
Course participants will be introduced to pruning fundamentals and concepts for fruit trees, including apple, pear and the stone fruits. We will look at summer versus winter pruning and pruning old, mature trees versus young newly established trees.
Tree planting and early training will be covered along with various methods of growing fruit trees e.g. tall spindle, dwarf pyramid, ufo etc. and also the choice of tree rootstocks. These terms will be explained along with many more.
There will be ample opportunity to ask questions in this class and participants will have an opportunity to spend some time in the garden looking at fruit trees and viewing demonstrations of the various pruning cuts recommended for fruit trees.
HCP Members $40/Non-Members $50
Register ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Instructor Bio: Gordon Mackay
Gordon grew up in the city of Glasgow, often called the ‘dear green place'. Inspired by his father at an early age to pursue horticulture, he was fortunate enough to be able to follow in his footsteps and completed the 2 year Diploma program at Threave School of Gardening in southwest Scotland. It was at Threave that his love and deep appreciation for all things plant related was fully realized. Working under the head gardener and plantsman Magnus Ramsay, it was soon to become apparent that pruning trees and shrubs was going to play a large part of this obsession. Further training was sought on the 3 year Diploma program at Pershore College of Horticulture in England. Since emigrating to Canada in 1994, Gordon had developed and established his own arboriculture business specializing in fruit tree pruning and tree care. He works part-time at a local retail garden centre; this somewhat helps to satisfy his plant obsession! He is also an instructor here at the Pacific Horticulture College. Gordon is also an avid beekeeper.

Introduction to Gardening with Ornamental Grasses
2024-03-03 13:00 - 16:00
with Mike Rogers
The workshop will consist of both a classroom session and an outdoor demonstration of planting, care and maintenance in the garden. Each will be approximately one hour in duration.
During the classroom session, participants will be introduced to the joys of gardening with ornamental grasses. Some basic botany, the most popular grass varieties for our area, growth habits and planting considerations will be covered. At all times the emphasis will be on the practical aspects of growing beautiful plants whether in mass plantings or stand-alone feature specimens in a garden or container.
The outdoor demonstration will include planting a new grass in the garden and the annual activity of spring clean-up in anticipation of another year of evolving beauty. The workshop will conclude with a short tour of the garden to highlight some of the grasses talked about in the classroom session.
$40 HCP Members /$50 Non-Members
SOLD OUT Sign up for the Interest List and hear about the next workshop or call 250 479 6162

Instructor Bio
Mike Rogers – “The Grass Man”
As a keen gardener, when Mike arrived in Victoria from Calgary a few years back, he felt like a kid in a candy shop and enjoys trying to grow anything that will thrive in our balmy Westcoast climate. When he moved into his current house on Craigflower Road in 2018, he quickly discovered that, located as he was between the golf course and the Esquimalt Gorge Park, the unfenced front garden was a deer “super-highway”. Consequently he began to look out for truly deer resistant plants to populate his garden. One group of plants that fit the bill was ornamental grasses and so has evolved a love affair with these wonderful plants.
Mike's adventures with ornamental grasses evolved into a series of articles in the Victoria Horticultural Society magazine Gardenry and that led to a number of speaking engagements – one of which gave rise to the moniker “The Grass Man” which he rather enjoys! Research for these articles and talks has resulted in the discovery of an ever expanding plethora of wonderful grasses and so the adventures continue.

Terrarium Gardens
2024-03-10 10:00 - 11:30
Gardening with tropicals and succulents is an easy way for children to use their creativity to make these miniature gardens. We will learn about the individual needs of these interesting plants and create a safe environment for them to grow in while using a glass container that is being reused or upcycled. These make great gifts!

Date: Saturday March 9, 2024
Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Fee: $35 or $30 with Family membership
Register: Online or call 250-479-6162

Home Herbalist Series - Spring Workshop
2024-03-17 13:00 - 16:00
Curious about the powers of medicinal plants but not sure where to begin? Join Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Herbalist Racheal Schnarr for the spring installment of the "Home Herbalist" series.
Components of this class include:
-A brief introduction to herbal medicine
-Herbal tastings
-Herbs to harvest and grow locally during spring
-Herbs used in traditional preparations during spring
-Foraged spring greens salad recipe
-Herbal tea blending (to take home)
Enjoy a morning connecting with medicinal plants and leave with the knowledge of how to practice herbalism in your own home, as well as your own spring herbal tea blend.
HCP Members $55/Non-Members $60
REGISTER ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Instructor Bio: Racheal Schnarr
Racheal Schnarr is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (R.H.N.) and Herbalist who studied at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and Pacific Rim College.
In addition to working as an R.H.N., Racheal operates a small botanical dispensary using herbs grown exclusively in her garden. She lives her passion of “connecting people with plants” both in her private business as well at Pacific Horticulture College as the College Administrator.
Through years of practicing clinical nutrition at multidisciplinary clinics as well as in her own private practice, she tapped into her passion for sharing the power of holistic nutrition and herbal medicine with her clients. Racheal's practice and classes are fun, hands-on, empowering, education based and are led in a supportive and open environment. Developing a deep relationship with plants, growing herbal medicine, ethical harvesting, food growing, food justice and living in reciprocity with the land on which we grow, forage, and learn are pillars in Racheal's practice and everyday life. She enjoys getting fresh air and her hands dirty when in her home garden, foraging the wild with her dog Josie, and occasionally working for her sister, a Landscape Horticulturist.

Spring Break Camps 2024 - March 18 to 22
2024-03-18 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-19 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-20 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-21 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-22 09:00 - 16:00
Join us for an outdoor garden experience where we will busy ourselves with seasonal gardening activities in our very own Junior Master Gardener plot! There will also be exploration of the many natural systems that keep our gardens growing, garden arts and crafts and more! Limited to 16 participants. For children between the ages of 5 and 12 years (School age)

Dates: March 18 to 22
Times: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Fees: $225.00 or $200 with Family Membership
Register: Online or call 250-479-6162

Managing Native Mason and Leafcutter Bees for the Garden
2024-03-23 09:30 - 11:30
with Emony Nicholls
Learn how these efficient native pollinators can help give you larger and more abundant fruit, vegetables and perennials throughout the spring and summer seasons with their exceptionally high pollination rates. In return, you are providing the important habitat and food for these important insects- it's a win-win! Learn how to attract and keep the bees, manage their houses and keep their cocoons over the winter, ready for the next generation in the spring.
HCP Members $30/Non-Members $40
Register ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Instructor Bio: Emony Nicholls
Emony has worked as a biologist, an environmental consultant, entrepreneur and civil servant for the last 25 years. For seven of those years, she owned and operated a native plant nursery in Ontario designing and providing plants for ecological restoration projects. Her graduate research was on the relationship between pollinators and plants and how it drives their evolutions. As part of this work, she did taxonomic identification of the native pollinators and fell in love with their diversity, abilities and individual beauty. She is now on a mission to educate others about them in the hopes that they will fall in love - and support them too! She recently left the provincial government as a biologist and now lives on Salt Spring Island doing more native bee education and starting her own business again bringing her love of native plants and native pollinators together!

Spring Break Camps 2024 - March 25 to 28
2024-03-25 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-26 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-27 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-28 09:00 - 16:00
Join us for an outdoor garden experience where we will busy ourselves with seasonal gardening activities in our very own Junior Master Gardener plot! There will also be exploration of the many natural systems that keep our gardens growing, garden arts and crafts and more! Limited to 16 participants. For children between the ages of 5 and 12 years (School age)

Dates: March 25 to 28
Times: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Fees: $180.00 or $160 with Family Membership
Register: Online or call 250-479-6162

Line & Wash Watercolours on Japanese Art Paper with Richard Wong
2024-03-28 13:00 - 16:00
Join Richard Wong for an afternoon of creative fun and inspiration exploring "line &
wash" techniques with archival ink and watercolour. The addition of line and wash
adds a little more texture to your paintings and can result in very pleasing effects.
In this March 28th line and wash workshop you will be covering "Cherries" and the "Carolina Rose".
Tuition (per workshop): $80.00 not including supplies /$90.00 includes paint
supplies but no pen
*Archival ink pens will be available from Richard at cost in class - bring $5.00
cash.*

Supplies Required If You Are Bringing Your Own
- Pigma 05 Micron black archival ink pens (will be provided in class at cost for
$5.00 - please bring cash.)
- masa paper (several 8x10" pieces). Option: regular 140lb watercolour paper
- winsor newton watercolours: bring all your colours
- paint brushes (medium and small), pencil, eraser, paper towels, containers for
rinse water
Registration: REGISTER ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Note: The April 26th line and wash workshop will focus on the "Northern Flicker" and "Clam". You can register seperately for the April workshop here: April 26th Worshop Information
Sign up HERE to receive updates on Richard's classes
Richard Wong, Artist Statement & Biography
“How I Became A Wildlife Artist”

This great adventure of mine started fairly innocently.
I spent a glorious 25 years with the provincial government of British Columbia working in finance and policy (Ministry of Environment). During that time, I came to appreciate our wildlife and natural environment, all so delicately balanced! Then it came time to retire. So I did.
My life as a wildlife artist started soon thereafter. With time on my hands, and a Christmas gift of art supplies (from my wonderful spouse), I enrolled in art classes (2010). First it was traditional watercolor classes. Then it was Chinese brush lessons. I soon discovered Japanese art paper, and my career (second) as a professional wildlife artist began. Learning to paint, especially watercolor, allows me to capture the very essence of wildlife and nature like no other medium. Much of our wildlife is affected to the point where we are losing them rapidly. So I do what I can to spread this message of awareness: to paint and capture our wildlife in beautiful, vibrant watercolors; to teach others how to do this; and along the way, to engage and connect people and communities through my love of art. This love has taken me to Australia and the United States, where I've taught, presented and shown my work (Watercolor on Japanese Art Paper). I now paint (professionally), teach and sell from my lovely home base in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Wishing everyone a very lovely journey as we embark on yet another wildlife/art adventure full of wonder, excitement and discovery!
Sincerely,
Richard Wong
Professional Wildlife Artist
Watercolor on Japanese Art Paper

HCP Kids Garden Club - Spring 2024
2024-04-06 09:30 - 11:30, 2024-04-13 09:30 - 11:30, 2024-04-20 09:30 - 11:30
Do you know a child or youth who loves the outdoors and thrives in the garden? Our HCP Kids Garden provides many opportunities for land-based engagement activities, including seed starting and propagation, planting, garden maintenance, pollinator habitats, and so much more. Each weekly class will have us in this amazing teaching garden where we grow our own food crops. Hope you can join us with your pre-k learner or drop-off (or join) your school age child. There are lots of takeaways, including seeds, transplants and more! Please pack your child's own garden gloves if you have some and bring along a water bottle (and snack if needed:) Age: 3 - 14 years
Please note there are two fees: Preschool and School Age; the School age program is 30 minutes longer

Date: Saturdays - April 6 - June 1, 2024 (no class April 27)
Times:

Preschool: 9:30 am - 11:00 am
School Age: 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Fees:

Preschool: $160/ 8 weeks or $140.00 with a Family Membership
School Age (5 - 14): $180.00 or $160.00 with a Family Membership

Register: ONLINE or Call 250-479-6162

Gardening with Wildlife
2024-04-20 09:30 - 11:30
with Emony Nicholls
During this talk, learn how gardening with native and conventional plants can give you a garden teeming with life from beneficial insects and birds while also being uninviting to deer and rabbits. We will look at how to attract pollinators to your garden, helping to produce larger fruits and vegetables. Berry producing shrubs and seed producing perennials for year-round bird watching pleasure will also be covered. Learn about barrier/deterrent options for rabbits and deer plus which plants will help repel them. And finally, preferred feeders and houses for wildlife will be discussed.
HCP Members $30/Non-Members $40
Register ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Instructor Bio: Emony Nicholls
Emony has worked as a biologist, an environmental consultant, entrepreneur and civil servant for the last 25 years. For seven of those years, she owned and operated a native plant nursery in Ontario designing and providing plants for ecological restoration projects. Her graduate research was on the relationship between pollinators and plants and how it drives their evolutions. As part of this work, she did taxonomic identification of the native pollinators and fell in love with their diversity, abilities and individual beauty. She is now on a mission to educate others about them in the hopes that they will fall in love - and support them too! She recently left the provincial government as a biologist and now lives on Salt Spring Island doing more native bee education and starting her own business again bringing her love of native plants and native pollinators together!

YP Kids - Springtime Fairy Garden
2024-04-20 13:30 - 15:00
We look forward to welcoming you to this springtime themed fairy garden workshop. Beginning with a garden walk for inspiration, let's create a special miniature garden depicting all the colour that the season has to offer! This making workshop provides your child with another creative way to connect with nature and become a plant steward while experiencing joyful moments of play for days, weeks and months to come! Need some playtime too? Why not sign up and make your own miniature garden!! 4+ years (6 and under with an adult)

Date: Saturday 20 April 2024
Time: 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Fee: $40 or $35 with Family Membership
Register: Online or call 250-479-6162

Willow Chair Workshop with Andrew Kent
2024-04-21 09:00 - 17:00
Join artisan Andrew Kent from The Willow Way for this full day workshop. In one day, with Andrew Kent's expert instruction, you can make and take home your own Bent Willow Rustic Chair. This is a great introduction to rustic building techniques. Learn how to make a square frame from pieces of alder & work with different sizes of willow to create your chair.
While these chairs can be made alone, if you would like to bring a helper, the registration fee is for up to 2 participants making one chair together.
Please note that you will need to bring your own lunch and snacks to this full day workshop.
HCP Members $285 / Non-Members $305
Register ONLINE or by calling 250 479 6162
Cancellations:
Note that this class requires a minimum of 2 registrants in order to run. If the minimum is not met, the class will be canceled or postponed. Please contact communityed@hcp.ca if you would like to cancel your registration. Note that registrations less than one week prior to the class date may not be eligible for a refund if registration minimums are not met.

Instructor Bio: Andrew Kent
The Willow Way's roots go back all the way to 1993 when I made my first willow chair in a workshop with Kate Lawes. Over the next five years, Kate and I opened and ran a store in downtown Nanaimo, attended many large and small shows, and hosted numerous willow furniture workshops. Many of the designs I use are traditional, coming from Kentucky by way of Pemberton, BC. Some are then updated with design ideas suggested by the materials themselves.
I grew up on a rural island and have always felt at home in the woods. A keen mountain biker, I am passionate about the outdoors and Vancouver Island. Many of my days are spent hunting for materials, foraging local species of willow and alder, and finding the best shoots and whips for each piece, which directs the creative construction.
From forest to finished product, the entire willow furniture process is an adventure and ever-evolving, which to me is the real beauty of this work. Most of the materials are natural and not milled, which means not one project is the same and it's always a new experience.
I think people respond to my work because it is more than just your average rustic furniture – it is handmade with materials that are otherwise not utilized. My passion for nature and for the creative process comes through in each piece.
Andrew Kent

Line & Wash Watercolours on Japanese Art Paper with Richard Wong
2024-04-26 13:00 - 16:00
Join Richard Wong for an afternoon of creative fun and inspiration exploring "line &
wash" techniques with archival ink and watercolour. The addition of line and wash
adds a little more texture to your paintings and can result in very pleasing effects.
During this April 26th line and wash workshop you will focus on the "Northern Flicker" and "Clam".
Tuition (per workshop): $80.00 not including supplies /$90.00 includes paint
supplies but no pen
*Archival ink pens will be available from Richard at cost in class - bring $5.00
cash.*

Supplies Required If You Are Bringing Your Own
- Pigma 05 Micron black archival ink pens (will be provided in class at cost for
$5.00 - please bring cash.)
- masa paper (several 8x10" pieces). Option: regular 140lb watercolour paper
- winsor newton watercolours: bring all your colours
- paint brushes (medium and small), pencil, eraser, paper towels, containers for
rinse water
Registration: REGISTER ONLINE or call 250 479 6162
Sign up HERE to receive updates on Richard's classes
Richard Wong, Artist Statement & Biography
“How I Became A Wildlife Artist”

This great adventure of mine started fairly innocently.
I spent a glorious 25 years with the provincial government of British Columbia working in finance and policy (Ministry of Environment). During that time, I came to appreciate our wildlife and natural environment, all so delicately balanced! Then it came time to retire. So I did.
My life as a wildlife artist started soon thereafter. With time on my hands, and a Christmas gift of art supplies (from my wonderful spouse), I enrolled in art classes (2010). First it was traditional watercolor classes. Then it was Chinese brush lessons. I soon discovered Japanese art paper, and my career (second) as a professional wildlife artist began. Learning to paint, especially watercolor, allows me to capture the very essence of wildlife and nature like no other medium. Much of our wildlife is affected to the point where we are losing them rapidly. So I do what I can to spread this message of awareness: to paint and capture our wildlife in beautiful, vibrant watercolors; to teach others how to do this; and along the way, to engage and connect people and communities through my love of art. This love has taken me to Australia and the United States, where I've taught, presented and shown my work (Watercolor on Japanese Art Paper). I now paint (professionally), teach and sell from my lovely home base in Victoria, BC, Canada.
Wishing everyone a very lovely journey as we embark on yet another wildlife/art adventure full of wonder, excitement and discovery!
Sincerely,
Richard Wong
Professional Wildlife Artist
Watercolor on Japanese Art Paper

Spring Plant Sale
2024-04-27 09:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-28 09:00 - 16:00
Admission to the gardens is always free during plant sales, so please take the time to walk around and explore.
Depending on the weather, some plants may not be ready to sell during our spring sale, but not to worry our sale area is always open (during garden hours) so check back often as stock gets added weekly.
Victoria Master Gardeners, HCP staff, volunteers and PHC students are on site as well to answer your gardening questions and help you choose the right plant for your garden.
If you don't see a plant that you are looking for just ask as we may have it in our polyhouses.
As with all sales, come early for best selection.
All proceeds go back into the gardens, so thank you for your support!
